Drivers fire team members for prank

NASCAR stars Terry Labonte and Derrike Cope fired two employees for a racial prank in which one of their workers wore a sheet over his head like a Klansman and confronted a black colleague.

Witnesses characterized the July 8 episode at the New Hampshire International Speedway as a joke by two white motorcoach drivers that went too far.

"It just needs to be understood that there is a line that cannot be crossed, joking or otherwise," said Kevin Triplett, NASCAR's director of operations.

Since the two motorcoach drivers were not employed by NASCAR, the sanctioning body could only suspend their licenses, which is the most severe punishment within its power. That means the two men cannot enter any area of a track over which NASCAR has jurisdiction.

NASCAR did not announce the suspensions until its investigation was complete.

Labonte and Cope said the two motorcoach drivers had confronted a coachman for another NASCAR driver, Jeremy Mayfield.

Cope's driver was identified by team and NASCAR sources as Mike "Grumpy" Culberson, and Labonte's as Ray Labbe. Spokesmen for the teams said neither former coachman planned any comment.

The black coachman, David Scott, also would not comment, according to a spokesman for Mayfield's team.

One of the two men wore the sheet over his head and the other accompanied him when they confronted Scott three days before the Jiffy Lube 300, according to NASCAR and team sources who spoke on condition they not be identified.

"Behavior like this simply cannot be tolerated in today's society," Cope said in a statement. "This was an example of grievous behavior that I do not condone."

The 1990 Daytona 500 champion called it "an ignorant act" that left him no recourse but dismissal.

"These actions are deplorable and will not be tolerated," said Labonte, a two-time Winston Cup champion. "When this situation was brought to my attention, the employee was released immediately."

Coach drivers are employed by most of the circuit's top racers who stay at the tracks during events.

NASCAR said it would not stand for any racial discrimination.

"Harassment of any type racial, religious, whatever, will not be tolerated in any form," Triplett said.

Auto racing is a predominantly white sport, and NASCAR's top division has had just one full-time black driver in its history, and only a sprinkling of black crew members. Few blacks are seen among the vast audiences at race tracks.

Aware of that image, NASCAR has been working to create minority interest. Former basketball great Julius Erving and former football star Joe Washington have formed a team, while former Olympic champion Jackie Joyner Kersee recently announced she is planning to be part of a new team.

The only black driver to reach NASCAR's top level was the late Wendell Scott, who got his lone career victory in 1963. His son, Franklin, criticized the sport as being exclusionary during his father's posthumous induction earlier this year into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

One driver who has spoken out about the racial makeup of auto racing is Frank Kimmel, reigning champion of the second-tier ARCA racing circuit, which is not affiliated with NASCAR. He has had some black crew members who have talked openly about the difficulty of being minorities in auto racing.